Written by

Kerry Lengel
| Gannett

Alcoholics Anonymous, with its famous Twelve Steps and Serenity Prayer, is such a familiar part of popular culture that it may be hard to conceive how revolutionary the movement was. Founded in 1935, it popularized the scientific-minded theory of alcoholism as a disease while exhorting its members to give themselves over to a higher power. Conceived as a "benign anarchy," it spread rapidly, displaying a mix of fervent evangelism and savvy entrepreneurism.

Behind this contradictory conceptual cocktail (excuse the pun) was Bill Wilson, known to adherents under the anonymized name Bill ...